Drawing observations
by writingwillow
Summary: Sisters in Tohru and Megumi's schools somehow end up involved with Tohru and her friends, but the girls prove that their personalities may be just as distorted as the zodiac, and a mysterious past to boot. MegumixOC, MomijixOC. Rated for later chapters. Up for adoption.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own fruits basket.**

"Hurry up, we don't want to be late." The girl with long red hair called back to the younger one a few steps behind her.

"Lizzy-chan, you don't have to walk me to school everyday if you're worried about it." She called out from behind. The sisters were very similar in appearance, both had blood red hair that curled to their wastes and similar features, other than the obvious age difference, though they were really only a few years apart, the only real difference was their eyes. The older girl, Elizabeth, had deep blue eyes with flecks of an almost golden color, while Sarah's were a forest green riddled with a brown so deep it was almost red.

"I have to make sure you get there, now hurry." She called back as they rounded the corner where she would drop her sister off at junior high before waving and running off in the direction of the high school.

The two of them hadn't been in the country long, luckily knowing the language wasn't a problem, but both of them were still adjusting to their new schedules, even after a couple of months it was still difficult for both of them. Both of them were first years at their schools, Sarah now in junior high, and Elizabeth in high school.

As much as she worried about being late every morning, Elizabeth always only ever arrived just in time to make it to her seat before the bell rang, sitting next to an adorable blonde boy who looked like he should be in class with her sister, though to be fair, both she and her sister were a little young for their grades themselves, given their circumstances.

As always, the girls sat quietly in their classes, paying little attention to anything around them. Elizabeth absently sketching in the margins of her papers half listening to what the teacher said, and only looking like she was taking notes. Sarah watched the other students from her seat in the back of the class, taking notes more on the other students than she was what the teacher said.

When classes were finally over, Elizabeth watched as the other students ran for the door in disinterest, waiting for the crowd to clear noticing, not for the first time, that the blonde boy next to her, and a boy with black and white hair hung back to avoid the crowd as well.

Moving the hair out of her face only slightly, she took her time putting her things into her bag as she nearly felt the room empty. With the room nearly deserted, she quietly left, barely avoiding bumping into the blonde boy who sat next to her. Without a word to anyone, she walked immediately back towards her sister's junior high. She watched her sister say goodbye to a solemn looking boy with dark hair and eyes curiously from where she waited near the gate.

As Sarah approached, Lizzy-chan looked at her questioningly, quirking an eyebrow when Sarah nearly grimaced.

"He saw me drop my notes." Sarah explained, almost apologetically. Elizabeth couldn't hide the amused smile at her sister's embarrassment.

"Anything interesting about him on there?" she asked, trying not to laugh. Sarah's eyes widened slightly as she quickly pulled out the badly put together notebook, which she hadn't taken the time to straighten out while she was being 'assisted' in pulling together all of her pages. She shuffled through the pages filled with observations about the students in her class.

"I take it then he's in your class at least." Elizabeth noted absently. "What's his name?"

"Megumi Hanajima." Sarah intoned, her face still buried in her papers, "Unfortunately I do have a bit on him, so I could give you a full report if you want once I get my papers in order." She said stacking her papers more neatly into her folder and sliding it back into her bag. She wasn't surprised when her sister actually considered it.

"Put your papers back in order tonight, and if he talks to you again tomorrow, give me the report." She said thoughtfully as she turned away from the school, her hands going up to pull her hair out of her face. Beside her, her sister watched, slightly amused.

"I still don't get why you put your hair in your face when you go to school." Sarah commented off-handedly. Elizabeth glanced down at her slightly.

"No need to give away everything right." She answered simply, her sister only smiling in reply.

"So, what should we do today, I'm tired of sitting in the apartment." Sarah said as they headed into town. Elizabeth thought for a moment.

"We need hobbies." She decided dejectedly. Sarah considered it and shook her head.

"We need lives." She corrected, "We have hobbies, but that doesn't change the fact that there are the same, limited amount of things to do here, and we're both sick of bowling and movies." Elizabeth silently agreed as she and her sister walked back to their apartment to change, before wandering into the city to find some way to kill the time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own fruits basket or the song Forever young by Alphaville.**

The next morning Megumi took the time to notice the red headed girl as she made her habitual rush to class, she was actually a little early, since classes started at about the same time as the high school. He noticed that she positioned herself close to one of the back corners where she had a good view of everyone in class.

He had already noticed some of the notes she had taken on their classmates, things most people wouldn't notice even if they knew the person well. Colors girls would wear most often in accessories, people who would watch others lovingly or shot angry glances at someone, how many notes were passed, who wrote them, who read them, who ate in class, chewed gum, every little miniscule detail, nothing seemed to escape her notice.

He had of course noticed a bit of information on himself, but he also noticed a good deal on one of their classmates, a girl named Kisa. She seemed to have earned extra attention when she started to be teased and lost her voice. She had even written down the girl's last words before she went silent, he wondered how she knew they would be important. The girl had only recently come back.

While Elizabeth rushed to class as normal, her mind swirled with what had happened the day before. She didn't know what to think of the boy she had seen her sister talking to. She didn't want to worry unnecessarily, but she wasn't sure if she should be happy or cautious about someone who might possibly become attached to Sarah.

She decided to try to force it out of her mind. If he spoke to Sarah again she would get a full report on him by the next morning, and not only was Sarah a good judge of character, little escaped her notice, and even less escaped her notes. She would reserve her judgment until she had more information about what was going on.

Elizabeth rushed to her seat distractedly, as always just beating the bell. As was her habit when she became overly distracted, she was singing softly, inaudibly. She didn't even notice when the boy next to her noticed, and leaned in to hear as she immediately took out her paper and began to doodle.

Momiji leaned over slightly and grinned when he noticed that, yes the girl next to him, who never spoke to anyone, was singing. It was soft, nearly inaudible, but she actually had a pretty voice. She didn't seem to notice even when he leaned over enough to look at her paper to see her doodles. Sitting back in his seat a little, he strained his ears to hear her song so the teacher wouldn't notice what he was doing.

"_Lets dance in style, lets dance for a while_

_Heaven can wait we're only watching the skies_

_Hoping for the best but expecting the worst_

_Are you going to drop the bomb or not?_

_Let us die young or let us live forever_

_We don't have the power but we never say never_

_Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip_

_The music's for the sad men_

_Can you imagine when the race is won_

_Turn our golden faces into the sun_

_Praising our leaders we're getting in tune_

_The music's played by the madmen_

_Forever young, I want to be forever young_

_Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever_

_Forever young, I want to be forever young_

_Do you really want to live forever, forever young_

_Some are like water, some are like heat_

_Some are a melody and some are the beat_

_Sooner or later they all will be gone_

_Why don't they stay young_

_It's so hard to get old without a cause_

_I don't want to perish like a fading horse_

_Youth is like diamonds in the sun_

_And diamonds are forever_

_So many adventures couldn't happen today_

_So many songs we forgot to play_

_So many dreams are swinging out of the blue_

_We let them come true_

_Forever young, I want to be forever young_

_Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever_

_Forever young, I want to be forever young_

_Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever_

_Forever young, I want to be forever young_

_Do you really want to live forever"_

Momiji couldn't help but smile slightly, even as he had to force his attention away from the girl next to him. He had never really bothered to notice her since she seemed to make it a point to stay to herself, but now that she had his attention, he decided he would make a new friend.

Sarah sighed slightly. It was nearly lunch time and Megumi hadn't said anything to her about what had happened the day before. She hoped that it meant he hadn't noticed anything about him in her notes. She still wasn't sure if she wanted him to talk to her again or not, but she definitely didn't want the exact contents of her notes known. It was just an old habit of hers to keep tabs on people, and considering the kinds of people she had meet up till now, she figured it wouldn't hurt to stay in practice.

She started shuffling together her papers as the lunch bell rang, unwilling to give anyone else a chance to notice the contents of her notes. Despite having her head down while putting her things in order, she was acutely aware of when Megumi walked by her desk, pausing slightly before he walked by her. While her mind immediately started working faster, going through her options, she did her best to pretend she hadn't noticed him and continued putting away her things, despite feeling herself tense slightly as if in defense.

Megumi decided it might actually be better to wait and actually sit with her during lunch before he tried to confront her about anything. So far she had fairly proven that she wasn't overly social, so he might get farther if she was somewhat trapped, at least he might get a couple answers out of her first if she tried to escape him.

Standing back slightly, he was somewhat surprised when she didn't bother getting a lunch. Going to a secluded table, she sat against the wall and continued watching the people around her. When he had gotten his lunch, without a word Megumi joined her, earning a few strange looks, but no one bothered to say anything.

Sarah watched Megumi cautiously as he sat across from her, unsure how she should react, at any rate, it looked like she would be giving Lizzy a report on him by morning. She sat stiffly, watching him as discreetly as possible until the silence began to wear on her nerves.

"Thank you for helping me with my notes yesterday." She said nervous but no longer able to take the awkward silence. His smile in reply was almost mischievous.

"You have unusual notes." He observed quietly. She stiffened. When it looked like he wasn't going to say anything else, she decided that she was expected to reply.

"Just an old habit of mine to make observations." She said quietly, hoping desperately that he wouldn't push the subject. Again he smiled almost wickedly.

"You observe everyone?" he asked. Still nervous she nodded slightly.

"Whoever happens to be around me." She answered simply, at least he seemed to be taking it more as a curiosity than anything.

Momiji watched the girl with red hair as she packed up her things for lunch, careful not to stand to close to her. He grinned when Hatsuharu stopped to wait for her as well.

"Hey, come eat lunch with us!" he said happily, pulling on her arm so she couldn't get away.

Elizabeth nearly jumped out of her skin when he had grabbed her arm. Holding the desk to keep herself standing, she looked over at the boys who were watching her in surprise.

"I don't usually eat lunch." She answered slowly, now that the first shock had worn off she was mostly just confused. She couldn't remember ever having spoken to anyone in class, but she wasn't entirely sure she would remember if she had. The blonde just smiled and pulled her with him.

She followed them to the roof were they sat down to eat, sitting with her back against the wall. Momiji sat next to her, introducing both himself as well as Haru. She smiled at them.

"My name is Elizabeth." She answered a little nervously, still not quite sure what to make of the situation. Momiji grinned at her.

"Will you sing something for us?" he asked suddenly, smiling at her innocently. When the question registered she blushed slightly, realizing he must have heard her that morning while she was distracted.

"Oh… uh… I didn't realize I had been singing that loud." She mumbled to herself, embarrassed. His smile just brightened.

"You weren't really, but you do have a pretty voice." He answered cheerfully, only making her blush darken.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits basket or the song 'Gives you hell'.**

"He has a sister at my school?" Elizabeth asked looking over the couple of pages her sister had handed her that morning.

"Hanajima Saki," her sister answered, not even looking at her from her place on the couch. "She's one grade ahead of you, a second year."

Elizabeth sighed and put the last page down on the table in front of her.

"I don't suppose you have information on anyone named Sohma?" she asked her sister, propping her head up on her arm tiredly.

That, it seems, caught her sister's attention. Sarah looked at her over the back of the couch.

"Sohma?" she asked, watching her sister nod with her head in her hand.

"Apparently there are a couple of them in my class, I met them yesterday." She explained in a bored tone.

"There are a couple of them at my school, one of them, a girl named Kisa in my class." Sarah answered, watching the older girl open her eyes to look at her. "Though that really has no bearing on the ones in your class, and from what information I've gathered, the ones in my school won't be directly related to the ones in your class as neither of them have siblings."

She looked a bit disappointed at her sister's assessment, but Lizzy just shrugged letting her head fall to the table.

"If you want an honest opinion of them then you already know I would have to meet them in person." Sarah said casually. Just as she was about to answer, Liz's stomach growled low and she frowned.

"Should we go out or order take out?" she asked her sister, not lifting her head from the table.

"Let's go out, I'm still a little anxious from everything that's happened this week." Sarah answered as she stood up and stretched. "It's not like anything interesting is happening here anyway."

"Nothing that isn't within our own heads anyway; and I don't really want to know what I'm thinking right now." Sarah mumbled back. Sarah just looked at her quietly for a moment before walking over to the door.

The two girls chased each other through the streets, only ever getting close enough to knock the other off her path. Running past a boy with dark, grayish purple hair where he was leaning against a hand rail, the older girl spun, running backwards to laugh at her sister trying to catch up.

"_I wake up every evening  
With a big smile on my face  
And it never feels out of place  
And you're still probably working  
At a nine to five pace  
I wonder how bad that tastes"_

Liz grinned widely as she dodged Sarah's attempt to knock her over, neither of them noticing the surprised look on he boy's face as they continued their impromptu game of tag.__

"When you see my face  
Hope it gives you hell  
Hope it gives you hell  
When you walk my way  
Hope it gives you hell  
Hope it gives you hell

Now where's your picket fence love  
And where's that shiny car  
And did it ever get you far  
You never seemed so tense love  
I've never seen you fall so hard  
Do you know where you are

And truth be told I miss you  
And truth be told I'm lying"  


Elizabeth didn't notice her sister glare at her while she stayed just a step or two ahead of her. She was nearly twirling trying to both watch her sister so she didn't quite catch up, and the sidewalk ahead of her so she didn't run into anyone, not even noticing that, once again, she was singing.

_  
"When you see my face  
Hope it gives you hell  
Hope it gives you hell  
When you walk my way  
Hope it gives you hell  
Hope it gives you hell  
If you find a man that's worth a damn and treats you well  
Then he's a fool you're just as well  
Hope it gives you hell  
Hope it gives you hell_

Tomorrow you'll be thinking to yourself  
Where'd it all go wrong?  
But the list goes on and on

And truth be told I miss you  
And truth be told I'm lying

When you see my face  
Hope it gives you hell  
Hope it gives you hell  
When you walk my way  
Hope it gives you hell  
Hope it gives you hell  
When you find a man that's worth a damn and treats you well  
Then he's a fool, you're just as well  
Hope it gives you hell

Now you'll never see  
What you've done to me  
You can take back your memories  
They're no good to me  
And here's all your lies  
You can't look me in the eyes  
With the sad, sad look  
That you wear so well

When you see my face  
Hope it gives you hell  
Hope it gives you hell  
When you walk my way  
Hope it gives you hell  
Hope it gives you hell  
When you find a man that's worth a damn and treats you well  
Then he's a fool you're just as well  
Hope it gives you hell

When you see my face  
Hope it gives you hell  
Hope it gives you hell  
When you walk my way  
Hope it gives you hell  
Hope it gives you hell  
When you hear this song and you sing along but you never tell  
Then you're the fool, I'm just as well  
Hope it gives you hell

When you hear this song  
I hope that it will give you hell

You can sing along  
I hope that it puts you through hell"

When the two made it to the park Sarah tackled her sister, finally catching up. The two looked at each other and broke into a fit of giggles at their situation.

"Geez, you weren't even paying attention and I couldn't catch you." Sarah said, still out of breath as their laughter died down. Elizabeth looked over to her sister, her grin beginning to fade. "What were you thinking about anyway?"

"How do you know I wasn't paying attention?" Liz asked teasingly. Sarah sat up and looked at her older sister.

"You were singing." She answered simply. Elizabeth made a strangled sound and rolled her eyes at herself.

"I do that a lot don't I? What was I singing this time?" she asked her sister, who was now sitting beside her.

"Doesn't matter, what were you thinking to get you that distracted?" Sarah asked staring the older girl down.

"I don't remember talking to anyone in my class before, I was wondering why someone would start talking to me now." Liz answered a little reluctantly.

"The Sohma boys you mentioned?" Sarah asked, Elizabeth just nodded slightly and she sighed. "I can't really say. Like I said before, I would have to meet them myself to give you my opinion of them. If they keep talking to you just pay attention, you might be able to figure out if something's going on yourself. It is possible that they just want to make friends, its not like anyone here knows who we are any way."

Elizabeth stared up at the darkening sky.

"I suppose, I just keep expecting people to act like everyone back home." She said softly. "Even halfway around the world people are exactly the same, people are always judged on money and looks, if you're rich or beautiful, or both, everyone loves you, no matter if you're a good person or not, if you have neither riches nor beauty, you are deemed worthless." There was a bitter tint to what she said before she turned back to her sister, her grin back on her face.

"I guess we should be heading home." Sarah said, helping her sister up. Neither of them wanted to think too much about home while they were here.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits basket or Michael Jackson's 'Human Nature'.**

Despite her sister's reassurance, Elizabeth still felt uneasy about making friends. The next morning she rolled her sister out of bed early to avoid their habitual rush. She sat at the little table in the kitchen while she waited for breakfast, a pop tart. Generally she and her sister avoided using the kitchen, the last time they had tried to actually cook they nearly blew the place up. They didn't usually get breakfast either, not enough time.

She thought about what Sarah had told her, and about the boys that had suddenly taken an interest in her. Unfortunately she didn't trust her own judgment of people; she had made too many mistakes too many times to not want a second opinion. The problem with getting a second opinion was how to get Sarah to meet them. She couldn't exactly invite them home with her.

She jumped when she smelled smoke and jumped looking for the fire when the toaster ejected a charcoal covered poptart. She grimaced at the smell and went to open a window when her sister came out, already dressed in her school uniform.

"I thought we agreed not to cook anymore." Sarah said as she tried to pull the thing out of the toaster only to jerk her hand away when she burnt her fingers.

"I figured I might be able to manage a toaster." Elizabeth answered sheepishly where she stood, "apparently not."

"I'm not sure I like the idea of eating in the morning." Sarah commented pushing the toaster away from her with her uninjured hand.

"Particularly if we're expected to make it ourselves." Lizzy added.

Despite her precaution, they still ended up running to school, later than usual.

Walking into class a few minutes early, Sarah once again noticed Megumi observing her. It seemed that now that she had his attention he seemed to find her interesting to study, that or he was just being cautious. She sat in her usual seat in the back corner where she had a good view of everyone in class, and yet she wasn't easily observed, and no one could sneak up on her.

Elizabeth rushed to class as quickly as she could, just barely getting in the door before the bell ring. She fell into her desk, feeling like she should just pass out. Momiji looked at her concerned. It took her a few minutes but she seemed alright once she caught her breath.

"Are you alright?" he asked worriedly once they had a chance to talk. Lizzy looked up at him in slight surprise.

"I'm fine," she assured him, still slightly breathless. "I just need to find a new way of getting to school." She smiled at him slightly as she tried to look back at what she was doing.

"You always get to school late?" Momiji asked curiously. He grinned when she still looked surprised that he spoke to her. Not really sure how to respond she just nodded.

"Particularly if we try to cook anything," she said when she figured that he was waiting for some sort of response from her; she couldn't help grinning slightly remembering the pop tart. She still didn't know what she had done wrong, but that didn't stop it from being funny to her. Momiji tilted his head slightly looking at her oddly.

"We?" he asked. She blinked at him for a moment.

"I live with my little sister." She explained simply. He kept smiling at her cheerfully. When lunch came around she was once again pulled away by Momiji and Hatsuharu. She sat with them as they ate like the day before not really saying much. She didn't notice when she started singing to herself again, and didn't notice when the two boys looked at her smiling or smirking slightly.

"_Looking out_

_Across the nighttime_

_The city winks a sleepless eye_

_Hear her voice_

_Shake my window_

_Sweet seducing sighs_

_Get me out_

_Into the nighttime_

_Four walls won't hold me tonight_

_If this town_

_Is just an apple_

_Then let me take a bite_

_If they say_

_Why, why, tell 'em that it's human nature_

_Why, why, does he do me that way_

_If they say~~_

_Why, why, tell 'em that it's human nature_

_Why, why, does he do me that way_

_Reaching out_

_To touch a stranger_

_Electric eyes are ev'rywhere_

_See that girl_

_She knows I'm watching_

_She likes the way I stare_

_If they say~~_

_Why, why, tell 'em that it's human nature_

_Why, why, does he do me that way_

_If they say~~_

_Why, why, tell 'em that it's human nature_

_Why, why, does he do me that way_

_I like lovin' this way_

_I like lovin' this way_

_Looking out_

_Across the morning_

_Where the city's heart begins to beat_

_Reaching out_

_I touch her shoulder_

_I'm dreaming of the street_

_If they say~~_

_Why, why, tell 'em that it's human nature_

_Why, why, does he do me that way_

_If they say~~_

_Why, why, tell 'em that it's human nature_

_Why, why, does he do me that way_

_I like lovin' this way_

_I like lovin' this way"_

"That was great Lizzy-chan!" Momiji praised her happily, she blinked at him in confusion.

"I was singing again?" she asked a little nervously. He nodded happily.

"Yeah, you do that a lot." He said laughing a little at her embarrassment.

"Only when I'm distracted apparently." She said looking perfectly distracted even as she said it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits basket.**

Elizabeth looked around the apartment nervously while she waited for her sister to finish getting ready for school. She wasn't sure anymore whether or not she liked that the two boys were taking such an interest in her. So far they had done nothing more than talk to her and be friendly, taking her with them when they went to have lunch. And Momiji sometimes offered her part of his.

For the past week or so she had given up worrying about their intentions, trying to accept that they just wanted to be friends. When Sarah finally came out they made their habitual rush to their respective schools and actually made it a little earlier than usual.

Sarah sat down in the back of the class as usual and pulled out her notes. For the past couple of days some of the girls had decided to take an interest in her. She actually found it interesting to watch the girls, who apparently believed she had no idea what was going on, as they giggled about the color of her hair and eyes. She kept it to herself of course, but she was actually enjoying the experience, she had never been teased before, everyone had been too afraid to say anything against their family.

As always, no one in class seemed to notice her watching them, much less did anyone realize that she wasn't really taking notes on the class.

When Megumi walked past the girls coming into class he looked back towards Sarah, apparently trying to see if the talk upset her any. He was still, thankfully, the only one in the school that knew about her notes, and so the only one who knew that she wouldn't miss something being said about her.

For Elizabeth, class went slowly. She had accepted the attention she got from the two boys well enough so far, but she was still trying to be very cautious with them. Not sure what else to do she was waiting for lunch to try to slip away before they took her with them again.

When finally lunch rolled around she had all of her things packed up in advance, Momiji of course had noticed this, but apparently still hadn't expected the girl to push through the crowd to be one of the first out the door. Still waiting for the crowd to thin before they left themselves, by the time he and Hatsuharu left they weren't sure where to try to find her.

They wandered around for a while, having eaten as fast as they could to go look for her before they had to go back to class. Momiji even went to convince Tohru to help them look, knowing she was already curious with what he had told her about the girl so far. Eventually they did find her, but not how any of them expected.

The three looking, Yuki and Kyo had opted out of the search, were sidetracked when they heard a long whining note and went to find whatever made the sound, hoping to make it stop. Eventually they followed the sound into the school yard and to one of the larger trees. When they eventually figured out that the sound was coming from up in the branches in the tree Momiji was surprised to look up and recognize Liz, playing an instrument that he didn't necessarily recognize.

When they eventually caught her attention, Momiji having to climb up the tree to do so, and convinced her to come down Hatsuharu introduced her to Tohru who was, as always, very happy to meet her. Momiji took his time to inspect the instrument she had explained to them as being bagpipes. She wouldn't explain why she ran out on them, she just shrugged and said she brought her bagpipes and thought she would take today to practice.

Despite the episode with the bagpipes, Tohru was delighted to meet this girl that Hatsuharu, and particularly Momiji seemed to have become so fond of. They would have talked longer, but the bell for classes rang and they had to go back.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits basket.**

When classes finally ended for the day Elizabeth stuffed her bagpipes into her bag with her books. Still, before she left the school she was stopped by Momiji and Tohru. They invited her over to Shigure's house, apparently where Tohru lived. But she excused herself telling them that she had to pick up her younger sister.

"The one who lives with you?" Momiji asked curiously. She nodded excusing herself again and walking away from them quickly.

Sarah was putting her books back together slowly and carefully when she felt someone come up beside her. It didn't feel like Megumi, she could hear in the footsteps that they were slow and hesitant, Megumi was never hesitant in approaching her. Not that he often did. She looked up at them, carefully keeping her face expressionless, and was slightly surprised to see Kisa Sohma standing nervously beside her, looking mildly terrified.

"h-hi…" Kisa said nervously, obviously unsure how to start a conversation with the girl. She had a soft, sweet voice, and Sarah smiled at her reassuringly. On the other side of the room she saw Megumi pause, watching the two of them, and outside the door she could see Hiro Sohma, who had taken up the habit of picking Kisa up from class more recently.

"You're Kisa right?" Sarah asked, deciding that it was best to play dumb. Seeing Kisa glance slightly at one of the girls that had taken up making fun of her, she realized what this must be about. Kisa didn't want the her to feel alone, she didn't want the teasing to affect her in the same way, and she smiled. "I love your hair, it's very pretty."

She had to stop herself from laughing at the look of surprise in Kisa's eyes. Her hair was a very pretty color, of course she probably didn't get many compliments on it. She nearly did laugh when Kisa began to turn pink, stuttering and unable to respond.

Sarah glanced slightly at the window and stood up quickly.

"Sorry I can't really talk right now." She said smiling, first at Kisa and glancing slightly at Megumi. "My sister should be here shortly to pick me up."

She saw Hiro watching her competitively as she passed him on her way out the door.

A few minutes later she was surprised to see Elizabeth just rounding the corner towards the middle school. She was late. She watched curiously as she ran, slightly breathless, towards her.

"You're late." Sarah said in a bored tone, watching her sister as she tried to catch her breath.

"Sorry," she apologized, looking up at her apologetically, "I got caught up." Sarah blinked at her, aware that Elizabeth was watching Kisa and Hiro, as well as Megumi, though he wasn't with the other two, behind her. She probably wouldn't speak much if they weren't alone. While she seemed like the more open of the two, Elizabeth really didn't trust anyone other than Sarah, it was very hard to earn her trust, and so far, Sarah was alone in the accomplishment. She didn't trust her judgment on people, she had been wrong too many times.

"The two that've taken an interest in you?" Sarah asked, knowing no one else would know what they were talking about. Elizabeth just nodded.

"Who're your friends?" she asked. Sarah turned slightly, just to be sure. As she'd expected Kisa and Hiro were standing not far behind her, looking at her and her sister, apparently in amazement. Sarah rolled her eyes, at least Megumi already knew about her notes, she might as well give up the oblivious act.

"Kisa and Hiro Sohma." She answered her sister expressionlessly. "Relatives, cousins as far as I can tell, of the two in your class." Elizabeth looked back at the two she'd yet to meet nervously.

"Why are they following you?" she asked, her voice low and cautious.

"A few girls have taken up teasing me for my appearance," Sarah explained apathetically, "The same happened to Kisa not long ago, she didn't want me to feel isolated."

Elizabeth looked back up at the two, shock written clearly on her face before it broke into a wide, friendly smile.

"Thank you so much for being so kind to my sister," she said, addressing the adorable orange haired girl.

"Perhaps we could find a way to repay them," Sarah suggested, not looking back to see the surprise and curiosity on their faces. Elizabeth seemed to pause, considering the suggestion.

"We could take them to dinner?" she said, Sarah nodded slightly. It was only Hiro that bothered to contradict her.

"Hold on, we've already got plans." He said, "We're going to meet Tohru…"

"Honda?" Elizabeth asked, surprising him. Kisa nodded nervously. "She can come too." Elizabeth decided smiling at them.

"So we're going back to the high school?" she asked her sister, who just nodded at her and Liz smiled happily glancing back at Megumi, who looked mildly amused at Sarah's hyper older sister. "You come too." She told him, grabbing him and dragging him along with them. He obviously hadn't expected to go with them himself.

Sarah and Elizabeth, along with the others they'd dragged along with them, arrived at the high school just as Tohru seemed to be leaving.

"Tohru!" Lizzy called, catching the girl's attention and surprising her.

"Oh, Lizzy chan!" Tohru said, surprised to see the girl after she'd run off to find her sister.

"You're coming to dinner with us." Liz informed the startled girl and Tohru stuttered, too surprised to think of a way to reply.

"Won't you come with us Onee-chan?" Kisa asked Tohru stepping closer to the older girl.

"Kisa!" Tohru exclaimed happily, hugging her tightly. The commotion caught the attention of the other Sohmas, still in the school. Momiji and Hatsuharu came out with four other people Elizabeth didn't recognize. She glanced at Sarah, trying to point out the two she knew to her younger sister.

"What's going on?" a tall orange haired boy asked, sounding annoyed.

"Kisa and Elizabeth have invited me to dinner." Tohru answered, looking up at him happily.

"What, when was this decided?" Kyo asked looking at Kisa and then scanning the group, unable to place which of the girls Elizabeth was. Megumi walked over to the two girls that had come out after the boys, greeting his sister.

"Not long ago," Liz answered him smiling. "You guys come too." She said and walked back out of the school grounds with Sarah, letting them follow as they would.

It wasn't long before Momiji caught up to Sarah and Elizabeth, smiling excitedly.

"Why are we going to dinner?" he asked smiling at Lizzy. Sarah looked at him searchingly for a moment before smirking slightly at her sister.

"It's a thank you to Kisa." Liz answered shrugging. Blinking slightly she looked at Sarah. "Where should we take them?" she asked. Sarah shrugged, not really caring.

"How about that French restaurant?" Sarah suggested in a bored tone. Elizabeth smiled at her happily nodding along as she led them towards one of the most expensive restaurants in the city.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits basket. The song 'This. Here and now. With you.' is owned by The Cure.**

The large group waited for a few minutes before they were led to a table large enough for the group. Tohru and the Sohmas looked around in awe and nervousness, not accustomed to going to places like this.

It was a round table, the only kind the restaurant had for groups this large. Sarah and Elizabeth sat across from each other. Momiji sat next to Elizabeth, with Hatsuharu next to him. Arisa sat between Haru and Hiro, who insisted on sitting next to Kisa. On Kisa's other side was Sarah, who was sitting next to Megumi and Saki. Yuki, and Kyo sat on either side of Tohru, though they weren't entirely sure how they had gotten dragged along with everyone in the first place.

They were shocked when the waiter arrived and Elizabeth spoke to him for only a minute in French before he left them bowing.

"I wasn't sure what everyone liked, so I just told him to bring some of everything so we could try it." She explained dismissively.

"Isn't that kind of expensive?" Arisa asked a bit nervously.

"You shouldn't worry about it," Sarah answered without looking at her, "We're treating you to dinner so we'll be paying the bill."

"That's right, so don't worry about the cost of anything." Liz told them happily.

"Are you sure it's okay?" Tohru asked, looking around the classy restaurant nervously. Hiro looked at Kisa concerned, she looked uncomfortable sitting there next to Sarah.

"D-doesn't this seem a…. a bit… much?" she asked softly. Sarah smiled at her.

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked surprised.

"You'll have to forgive us if this seems a bit lavish," Elizabeth said, smiling at the younger girl a bit awkwardly, "We go to these sorts of places all the time, so it doesn't seem like any sort of big thing." Sarah smiled at the surprise on everyone's faces.

"It's certainly better than us trying to cook anything ourselves." She commented to her sister who grimaced slightly at the mention, "and apparently we just have expensive tastes."

"Why is it better than cooking yourselves?" Tohru asked looking at Elizabeth. Liz cringed at her own answer before she'd even said it.

"Let's just say we're not the best cooks."

"The last time you used a toaster the apartment smelled like charcoal for days," Sarah commented dryly, making their guests jaws drop in surprise, "Eating in places like this still turns out to be less expensive than buying a new kitchen every few days."

"I thought I could manage a toaster, it's only got the one button." Liz mumbled to herself, a smile creeping across her face in spite of herself.

"Apparently not." Liz answered, expressionless as the waiter returned with drinks for everyone at the table.

The group chatted amiably over their drinks while the waiters moved in and out, bringing the different courses of their meal. About half way through their meal Saki noticed Elizabeth become nervous. She stiffened and looked past her sister, who looked down at her silverware, catching the reflection in the polished surface.

"I'll just be a moment," Elizabeth said standing and stepping away from the table.

"An acquaintance of our parents," Sarah explained, the smile falling from her face as she sat stiffly in her seat. "It's better to great them away from our own table."

Elizabeth approached the middle aged gentleman slowly and curtsied politely. They spoke shortly before she made her excuses and walked, politely but quickly, back to their own table.

Momiji smiled at her as she sat next to him once again.

"Is everything okay?" he asked seeing her look a bit nervous.

"Yes, it should be fine." She answered tiredly, "Hopefully no one will come to greet us," she said looking at Sarah sadly.

"So, I don't believe I've heard how you all know each other," Sarah said, addressing Momiji. She was obviously just changing the topic to avoid the current subject, but Momiji grinned at her.

"We're in the same class." He told her cheerfully, "I noticed Elizabeth singing one day, and since she didn't seem to have many friends, I decided to make friends with her."

"Because you were singing?" Tohru asked, looking at Elizabeth in surprise.

"We need to do something about what we call her." Arisa said annoyed.

"Yes, Elizabeth is a bit long," Saki said, pushing away one of the snails on her plate, few of them really had been willing to try them.

"How about Beth-chan," Arisa said with a smile. Elizabeth's face fell into dead irritation.

"Do not call me that." She said, annoyance lacing her voice. Tohru and Momiji looked at her in surprise.

"Liz, or Lizzy are fine, she just doesn't like being called Beth." Sarah informed them, taking a sip from her glass.

"Lizzy-chan?" Momiji said, testing out the name happily. Elizabeth smiled at him.

"Are you hoping to be a musician then? I heard you were also seen playing some sort of instrument at school today." Yuki asked turning to Liz. She looked surprised at the assumption.

"No, apparently I have a habit of singing when I'm distracted."

"Really, I would love to hear you sing!" Tohru said excitedly.

"If you can play an instrument as well it may be interesting." Saki said. Sarah looked at Elizabeth closely from across the table.

"Which one did you bring?" The Sohma's looked at her in surprise when she asked.

"How many instruments can she have?" Kyo asked pointedly.

"I've learned to play several instruments," Liz explained to them before answering her sister, "I brought my bagpipes."

"Those awful things?" Sarah said looking at her sister in surprise.

"I like bagpipes," Liz defended, "They're….unique"

"You only learned to play those things to annoy Mom and Dad." Sarah said rolling her eyes.

"That was a bonus." Beside her Momiji grinned at the idea. The sound of the bagpipes had been horrible, but he understood what Liz was saying, more or less.

"Can you sing something for us," he asked smiling at her sweetly, "Tohru wants to hear you too, right Tohru?" she agreed, nodding nervously. But Elizabeth looked cautious of the request.

"Not here," she told him, smiling back apologetically, "how about I sing something when we leave the restaurant?" she compromised. He pouted slightly, but accepted it.

When the group left the restaurant they noticed that a good bit of time had gone by, and the sun was sinking into the lower part of the sky, just beginning to bathe the city in a pinkish glow. The group walked together until they reached the park, where Liz was reminded of her promise to sing for them. Everyone agreed that they would part ways when the song was over.

Elizabeth sighed, trying to think of a song, anything she could think of the lyrics to. Like she had told them, she usually only sang when she was distracted, she wasn't thinking about what she sang. She wasn't used to having to remember the lyrics on command. Eventually she thought of one she could remember.

"_This_

_Here and now_

_With you_

'_Oh please don't ask me who I am_

_Or when and where my life began_

_Or how I ended up like this or how_

_Don't ask me what I was before_

_If I was anything at all_

_It's nothing you can know_

_About me now'_

_You hold my spinning head to stare_

_And strip me bare of memory_

_Your black eyes burning into me_

_So slow_

_The sounds and lights and others fade_

_And fall away in symmetry_

_Your black eyes burning hungrily_

_And unafraid I know……_

_Everything I ever dared forget is here_

_Too scared before I never let_

_Tonight be all I need_

_Everywhere I never tried to get is here_

_Too tired before to ever let_

_Tonight be all I feel_

_Every time I ever thought regret is here_

_Too caught before I never let_

_Tonight be all I dream_

_There isn't any yesterday_

_Tomorrow starts a day away_

_This here and now with you is how_

_Always should be_

_This_

_Here and now_

_With you_

'_I can't believe it's coming true_

_I'm so up close to kissing you_

_A breath away from never going home_

_I don't' remember getting here_

_It seems to be sometime next year_

_I hope you won't be…_

_Leaving me alone?'_

'_No please don't tell me who I am_

_Or when and where my life began_

_Or why I ended up like this or how_

_Don't tell me what I was before_

_If I was anything at all_

_It's noting you can know_

_About me now'_

_You pull my shaking body close_

_To make the most of tangency_

_I bite your mouth so fearfully_

_And slow_

_The taste of summers yet to shine_

_A perfect time to change the scene_

_I bite your mouth in urgency_

_And terrified I know…_

_Everything I ever dared forget is here_

_Too scared before I never let_

_Tonight be all I need_

_Everywhere I never tried to get is here_

_Too tired before to ever let_

_Tonight be all I feel_

_Every time I ever thought regret is here_

_Too caught before I never let_

_Tonight be all I dream_

_There isn't any yesterday_

_Tomorrow starts a day away_

_This here and now with you is how_

_Always should always be_

_This_

_Here and now_

_With you"_


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits basket.**

"What do you think of them?"

"I don't think it really matters too much what I think of them." Sarah answered, smiling to herself softly. "Or it wouldn't if you weren't afraid to trust anyone. You already like them, particularly the little blonde." She stopped, turning to look at her sister where she had stopped.

* * *

Tohru and the Sohma's were chatting happily as they made their way up the path to Shigure's house. As Tohru let them inside the dog's playfully hurt voice met them from another room.

"Oh dear, where have you all been, I've been worried." Immediately Tohru flew into a panic, having forgotten that she had to cook dinner.

"Oh, Shigure, I'm so sorry, I'll go make dinner right now," Shigure watched in amused surprise as she ran off to the kitchen to make him something.

"So, where did you all go?" he asked, turning to the Sohma's still standing there.

"Lizzy-chan took us out to dinner." Momiji said happily, bouncing on his heels.

"Lizzy-chan?" Shigure asked, smiling at Momiji's enthusiasm and sending a questioning glance at Yuki.

"A new friend of Momiji and Hatsuharu's," Yuki answered, "she's apparently in their class."

"I see," Shigure said smiling at them. "And I wasn't invited?" Momiji bounced at his elbow in his excitement.

"You probably would have been if you were there," he said happily "but it was kind of last minute, it was a thank you for Kisa-chan!"

"Oh really?" Shigure smiled as the two youngest Sohma's sat nearby, "A thank you for what I wonder?"

"For being nice to Sarah, Elizabeth's sister." Hatsuharu answered, expressionless.

"Your food should be ready in a few minutes. I'm so sorry, I completely forgot Shigure-san" Tohru said comming back into the room.

* * *

"Liz, seriously..."

"I'm not that attached to them Sarah, we haven't even been in the country a whole year..."

"And since the blonde started talking to you you've been completely preoccupied trying to get me to meet them, or tell me enough about them so that I could tell you whether or not you could trust them because you're terrified of getting fooled again." She looked at her sister sympathetically, "And the longer I held my judgement the more often you get distracted, enough that you started singing in front of them. And the more you've gotten to know them the more depressed you got because you're afraid to trust them, because you can't trust your own judgement on people." Sarah sighed.

"It's in your nature to be trusting, it's pathetic how bad our experience with people is, if even you're too afraid to get close to anyone, even when you like them as much as you do this group, because you think something's going to change and they're just going to want something from you and you'll turn into a means to an end."

"Sarah," Elizabeth sighed, sinking into the couch thinking about what her sister had told her. "Maybe we shouldn't have come here in the first place. We should go back before things get too complicated and we don't want to go back at all." Sarah looked back at her sister from her seat on the arm of the sofa opposite her sister.

"You already wouldn't want to go back. You didn't want to go back before we left." she said softly, "That's why we came wasn't it. And besides, I think you're really starting to love Momiji, he's closer to you than anyone. So close I thought only I could be that close to you."

"Sarah..."

* * *

The evening wore on. Momiji had fallen asleep in the middle of the floor, Kyo and Yuki were heading for bed, and Shigure pulled Tohru and Hatsuharu aside for a bit more information on the girls who had taken them out just for being nice.

"Momiji just noticed her one day, she's always getting to class out of breath and just barely on time, and one day, I guess he noticed her singing since apparently she does that when she's distracted, and he decided that we should make friends with her." Haru told them.

"He certainly seems to have become fond of her." Shigure mentioned thoughtfully. Tohru smiled at the blonde sleeping on the other side of the room. Hatsuharu looked a bit nervous as he agreed. "I think it would be wise for us all to be gentle with her. Momiji's had more than enough heartbreak for the time being, even if he does seem cheerful in spite of it."

Tohru nodded, agreeing with him while Haru studied his cousin's face, calm and happy in sleep. Not the energetic cheerfulness that he was known for, just happy.

"Yeah, I think we should all be gentle with them, for Momiji at least."


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits basket.**

The next few days went fairly normally, now that Elizabeth had Sarah's positive opinion of her new friends. Certainly Momiji was happy with the new development not that he knew what had brought it about. Liz no longer tried to avoid any of them, though she was still hard to get to for anyone who hadn't gone to dinner with them. She and Tohru got along well, the same with Saki and Arisa, but Momiji was undoubtedly the one she was the closest to. She no longer tried to avoid anyone, actually she more often than not would wait around for everyone to get together.

Sarah started walking home on her own, usually with Megumi. This allowed Liz more freedom to spend time with the friends she'd made, and though she would never admit it, Sarah was actually begining to like hanging out with Megumi, certainly he had an interesting take on her notes. It was nice.

It was nearly two weeks after they had all gone out for dinner when Elizabeth stopped, just in sight of the school, looking about herself nervously. She was running late again, actually was a bit late today, and she just knew something was off, it's what made her keep hesitating. She walked the rest of the way to the school, halfway up the stepps to the door she stopped again, this time because of the voice behind her.

"Princess Elizabeth! We've come to..." Liz silenced the man with a gesture, glaring at the step just three steps up.

"I told my father before we left that Sarah and I would not have guards, that has not changed."

* * *

Momiji was running back to his classroom, now that Yuki and the others were with him, to settle the situaion with Haru when Tohru asked where Elizabeth was. He stopped, she was unusaually late today, he'd just been too distracted to actually notice, she was always nearly late, but she'd always been in class by now. Tohru said she would see if Liz was at the classroom while Momiji went to see just how late she was. He stopped in shock, staring through one of the windows when he saw her standing on the steps up to the school, her back turned on three uniformed men. He could just barely make out what they were saying as he slowly made his way closer.

* * *

"It has been confirmed that the child your mother carries is male, as this is a delicate time..."

"It has already been established that we are not even expected to return, and neither are Sarah or I under any direct threat, we will not have bodyguards."

"The king has ordered..." Only the officer in the center seemed to speak, Elizabeth cut him off once again.

"My father is already aware of what Sarah and I are doing here. We have been given leave to finish our formal schooling where and as we wish, and while we are expected back for _most _holidays, a successful sonagram hardly signifies. As neither of us have been threatened in any way we will not be running back." Elizabeth was now staring at Momiji, standing near the top of the stairs into the school, trying to ignore the guards behind her.

"As you're brother will become the air your position..."

"Is now much less important though my _duties _remain the same. I remain little more than a trinket for my father to trade to the highest bidder, or whoever he believes will gain him more political power."

"Princess, the king would like to begin..." Liz rolled her eyes, breaking contact with Momiji, and jumped off the side of the steps, running out of sight of her guards as quickly as she could. Momiji barely glanced at the guards as he followed. Friendship with Liz was wierd enough, what was she hiding now?


End file.
